London
This coverage focuses on retail activity, trends, and developments in London, a central hub of the UK retail industry. Reporting highlights flagship store openings, property developments, regional economic factors, consumer behaviour, and strategic moves by both international and domestic brands. Tailored for retail executives and managers, it offers insights into operating and competing in one of the world’s most dynamic retail markets.
-
Mar- 2020 -24 MarchShopping Centres
Westfield Stratford announces temporary closure amid coronavirus outbreak
Shopping centre Westfield Stratford City has announced it is “substantially closed” amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 outbreak. The shopping centre announced its closure on social media with a statement that it was closed with exceptions from grocery stores and pharmacies to “service our communities’ needs.” The statement read: “We…
Read More » -
24 MarchCoronavirus
Contactless spending limit to rise to £45
Barclaycard has announced it will be rolling out the deployment of a new £45 contactless limit across UK retailers from 1 April 2020. The payments provider, which enables almost half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, said that the increased threshold would “help to prevent” the spread of…
Read More » -
2 MarchNews
Waitrose launches online roll-out programme
Waitrose has announced the launch of its new national online roll-out programme, which will add Waitrose.com online delivery service to a further 24 sites across the country. The supermarket giant said these sites were “strategically placed” to handle an increased demand for its online shopping service in preparation for its…
Read More » -
Feb- 2020 -28 FebruaryShopping Centres
New £90m north-east retail development secures 23 brands
Plans to build a new £90m outlet shopping and leisure destination in the North of England have been unveiled, along with the first 23 brands to sign-up including BOSS, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Adidas, Levi’s, Mint Velvet, Joules, Gap and Skechers. Scotch Corner Designer Village, situated on the A1(M) in…
Read More » -
28 FebruarySupermarkets
Aldi removes single-use plastic lids from own-label products
Supermarket Aldi has announced it is removing all plastic lids on its own-label products, as part of its ongoing campaign to reduce single-use plastics. From March, the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket will stock products such as ready-to-drink coffee and own-label fresh cream without “unnecessary” plastic lids in over 780 stores across…
Read More » -
25 FebruaryComment
The changing face of retail in the age of digitisation
Retail: the 2020 snapshot It’s no secret that high street retail in Britain has been struggling for the past decade. Since the collapse of Woolworths in 2009, it has been clear that something, somewhere, has been going very wrong on the Great British high street. In fact, currently it is…
Read More » -
25 FebruaryNews
Barclay brothers’ children in Ritz hotel ‘bugging’ scandal
A legal feud between the Barclay brothers’ families has come to light after a court heard Sir Frederick had private conversations recorded by his twin brother’s son in the Ritz hotel in London. Frederick, 85, and his daughter Amanda claimed Sir David’s three sons were “parties” to the secret recording…
Read More » -
25 FebruaryBusiness Bites
Chlorinated chicken ain’t the way
The European Union will insist that the UK retains the current ban on chlorinated chicken as part of any free trade agreement that might be struck by the end of this year. It taps into one of the most symbolic arguments made during the last three years by those who…
Read More » -
25 FebruaryClothing & Shoes
Ted Baker in talks to offload London HQ
Embattled retailer Ted Baker is reportedly in talks to sell its ‘Ugly Brown Building’ headquarters in London to British Airways’ pension scheme. According to Sky News, in a bid to help its balance sheet after an accounting blunder revealed it had overstated its inventory by £58m, Ted Baker is “close”…
Read More » -
21 FebruaryBusiness Bites
Barclays as Big Brother, storms batter insurance companies, Redcar steels itself for renewal
The TUC says Barclays’ surveillance of its employees is ‘dystopian’ after it was revealed the bank uses software to monitor how long employees spend at their desks and issues warnings if they are away for too long. Bosses have been running a test of the system in the London office…
Read More »
